Day 17 and 18 - Madrid, Spain

...probably wouldn't be allowed in Canada...
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We decided we had seen enough of Barcelona so we decided to continue through to Madrid after our flight from Ibiza. We finally found a hostel, had dinner at an amazing tapas restaurant (mini 1 euro baguette sandwiches) and crashed early.

The next morning we took our time getting ready and began our trek through the city of Madrid. We walked down the main road and saw the main "attractions" from the outside. I think our heads were still a little shaky from Ibiza so we weren't so keen on the intense sightseeing we had experienced up till then. We walked through the famous park and then spent way too much time looking for the tapas restaurant from the previous night. We indulged once again.

Madrid's park.
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We then went back to the hostel, changed, and headed out to the main stadium to see the famous bullfight. The stadium was completely packed and we then realized why our tickets were so cheap - we were under the hot sun for the first couple hours and literally baked praying for the sun to descend as quickly as possible.

The actual bullfight was quite disturbing. It is interesting to note that the attendees were either tourists or older locals - I guess young people haven't embraced that aspect of the culture. It was pretty violent and cruel - in fact, some girl in front of us began crying after the 1st of 6 bulls was killed. She tried to leave but the old locals yelled at her until she sat back down to witness 5 more deaths. It was a great experience but I don't know if I'd go back anytime soon.

The arena.
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After we were exhausted and had to catch an early train so we called home and headed to bed.